March for Life in Argentina draws massive crowds

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mar 27, 2018 / 03:10 pm (ACI Prensa).- Marking the Day of the Unborn Child on March 25, tens of thousands of Argentinians took to the streets throughout the country to demonstrate for the sanctity of all human life.

According to organizers, approximately 150,000 people marched from Plaza Italia down Sarmiento and Libertador avenues, ending up at the University of Buenos Aires Law School.

The main goal of the march was to reject abortion and to call for comprehensive solutions upholding the dignity of the mother and the unborn child.

Argentina was the first country in Latin America to mark a Day of the Unborn Child, declared Dec. 7, 1998 by then-president Carlos Saul Menem. Much of Latin America now observes the day.

The 2018 March for Life took place simultaneously in 200 cities throughout the South American country in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Corrientes, Córdoba, Chubut, Mendoza, Entre Ríos, and others.

The Buenos Aires march was accompanied by a talk from Dr. Soledad Otazua, who explained the process of human development in the mother’s womb with a large-scale model of a baby at 12 weeks gestation.

A group of doctors also read a pro-life manifesto. “Harming a living human being in any way with the intention of ending its life under no conditions constitutes a medical act,” the text states.

“Neither the state nor anyone can force any agent or healthcare professional to engage in practices that go against their conscience,” the manifesto adds.

Pro-life activist Patricia Sandoval traveled to Argentina to participate in the event and share her life’s testimony. She explained that the she had undergone three abortions earlier in her life. Later, she worked with Planned Parenthood in California and assisted in an abortion, when she realized the humanity of the unborn child and underwent a powerful conversion.

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.